Unreal Engine 4-powered Heavy Gear Assault goes all out

The folks at MekTek Studios are pulling out all the stops for their new mecha game, Heavy Gear Assault. A new title in the fan-favorite giant robot action game, MekTek and Stompy Bot Productions are looking to satisfy fans of the long-dormant series while introducing it to a new audience.

Set on the planet Terra Nova, players will take on the role of a mech pilot and must fight their way through a series of duels and competitions on the surface of the ruined landscape. You’ll be able to customize and outfit your mecha with a variety of different loadouts and cosmetic designs to personalize as you see fit.

At this past Game Developers Conference, the developers had a portion of the game playable on the show floor. Just after two months of work, they demonstrated that much work had been accomplished. Attendees got to play an early build of the game’s Deathmatch mode. Taking influences from classic mech games from past Heavy Gear games, the devs wanted to emphasize the feeling of weight and heaviness when you control mechs.

As one of the early games running on the Unreal Engine 4, MekTek is already ahead of other developers with its title. “We are privileged to be amongst the first titles to use Epic Game’s Unreal Engine 4,” said president Vince McMullin. “We will be able to bring all the gritty realities of sporting combat in the Heavy Gear universe to life with never before imagined high-end visuals. Heavy Gear Assault will truly be the first next-generation mecha game.”

In an attempt to get people excited about the new Heavy Gear game, MekTek and Stompy Bot have opened up a crowdfunding campaign. So far, they’ve gathered more than $100k of their funding goal of $900k. Word of mouth has been pretty positive on the show floor, and the stretch goals for their fundraiser shows that they have got a number of other ideas in mind to further improve the game.

A San Francisco native, he's an admirer of the city's diverse culture and lifestyle. Prior to joining the staff, he was a contributor and an editor for his college newspaper where he wrote articl... more